Words

Do searches for palindrome phrases coincide with palindromic days?

November 29, 2021 / Words / 1 minute of reading

This week marks the palindrome week where every day is a palindrome. (Technically, it’s not the last time in our lifetime, this will happen again on 1/20/21) 9-10-19 • 91-0-199-11-19 • 91-1-199-12-19 • 91-2-199-13-19 • 91-3-199-14-19 • 91-4-199-15-19 • 91-5-199-16-19 • 91-6-199-17-19 • 91-7-199-18-19 • 91-8-199-19-19 • 91-9-19 Let’s celebrate palindromes. The internet has lots of …

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The word “fascinating” comes from witchcraft

May 14, 2023 / Words / 1 minute of reading

The etymology of the word “fascinating” comes from witchcraft. That explains why people say “fascinating” slowly, as though one is in a spell. I looked up “fascinating” because my three-year-old asked me what that word meant. I thought that “fascinating” would be related somehow to facets. Like the facets of a diamond are fascinating. But …

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boom

Getting a BOOM boomerang

March 24, 2021 / Words / 1 minute of reading

Have you ever used the interjection “BOOM!” when you think you are right, but actually you aren’t? If someone corrects your BOOM, they boomeranged you. Last weekend, I was explaining something to my three-year-old daughter. At the end of the explanation I confirmed it with a “BOOM!” But then she corrected me and gave the …

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Learning to write a phrase in Hindi

April 4, 2020 / Words / 2 minutes of reading

My wonderful wife wrote a gracious message on my Facebook wall for Father’s day. In her message she mentioned, “joie de vivre.” Not knowing what this phrase means, I headed over to one of my favorite resources on the internet, Google Translate. The default language for translations—for some reason on my Google—was set to Hindi. …

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Learning one new foreign language word every day for a year

February 20, 2021 / Words / 2 minutes of reading

My method of learning new words in another language: repetition This is how I’m thinking of doing it: Method #1: repetition Have Google Translate translate an English word into another language. In this case, Google translated “great” into the Estonian “suurepärane”. Here’s how it sounds on Google. Click the audio button 20 times. Enter repetition! …

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@HISCHoustonTX

When a retirement home tweets a quotation from you — on your birthday

February 9, 2022 / Life, Words / 2 minutes of reading

Today I turn 43 years old. Then I find out that a retirement home chain tweeted my quote six times! A little ironic. Since it’s my birthday, I’m feeling older. And now retirement homes are plastering my name all over their accounts. Thank you, retirement homes. Now that I feel like an old man, my …

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dictionary.com word of the day: fillip, dopester, dissemble, bewhiskered

Discussion for dictionary.com’s Word of the Day

November 8, 2018 / Words / 3 minutes of reading

The Word of the Day by dictionary.com is wonderful. Every day features a different, interesting word. Recent words include: dissemble, dopester, bewhiskered, fillip, grumphie, and univocal. The graphics are nice and brief. A very simple digestable explanation is featured on the graphic. These little squares are so handy—and sharable. If you’d like to dig a little bit …

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Volute stairs

Volute is related to the word revolve

May 14, 2023 / Words / 1 minute of reading

The curly thing at the end of a staircase handrail is called a volute. Any architecture ornament that is a spiral is also called a volute. Today volute is dictionary.com’s Word of the Day. Volute. Why are curly, spiral things called volutes? Is volute based from some other word? TO THE ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY! The …

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puns are illegal in germany (google translate)

Are puns are illegal in Germany?

September 26, 2018 / Words / 1 minute of reading

Google translates “Puns are illegal in Germany” into “Wortspiele sind in Deutschland illegal” The word “puns” in German is “Wortspiele” That is so much FUN! Word fun! Clearly, puns are NOT illegal in Germany. The very word for pun is a kinda like a pun. Or wait—does speile mean play? Speile is games. Speilen is …

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